The Development of a Conical Composite Energy Absorber for Use in the Attenuation of Crash/Impact Loads

A design for a novel light-weight conical shaped energy absorbing (EA) composite subfloor structure is proposed. This composite EA is fabricated using repeated alternating patterns of a conical geometry to form long beam structures which can be implemented as aircraft subfloor keel beams or frame se...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI). Conference Proceedings
Main Author Littell, Justin D
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published Hampton NASA/Langley Research Center 08.09.2014
Subjects
Aircraft accidents
Aircraft components
Attenuation
Beams (structural)
Composite materials
Crush tests
Energy absorption
Flooring
Hybrid composites
Impact loads
Keel beams
Weight reduction
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Summary:A design for a novel light-weight conical shaped energy absorbing (EA) composite subfloor structure is proposed. This composite EA is fabricated using repeated alternating patterns of a conical geometry to form long beam structures which can be implemented as aircraft subfloor keel beams or frame sections. The geometrical features of this conical design, along with the hybrid composite materials used in the manufacturing process give a strength tailored to achieve a constant 25-40 g sustained crush load, small peak crush loads and long stroke limits. This report will discuss the geometrical design and fabrication methods, along with results from static and dynamic crush testing of 12-in. long subcomponents.